BEIJING — Police in central China have arrested an American college student on charges of intentional injury following an altercation with a taxi driver.

A family friend of Guthrie McLean said Thursday that the University of Montana student was formally arrested in the city of Zhengzhou earlier this week.

Tom Mitchell, the family friend who is also Beijing bureau chief for the Financial Times, said McLean was trying to protect his mother from a local taxi driver in a dispute that took place on June 10.

Mitchell said he’s not aware if any U.S. official has visited McLean in detention.

The Zhengzhou municipal public security bureau, when contacted by The Associated Press, said it does not take inquiries about individual cases. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing referred questions to spokesmen in Washington.